Archive for July, 2008
iPhone Take 2
July 16th, 2008
So here we go again. I am going to give it one more try. But I am glad to say things are looking up. I managed to acquire the new device yesterday after a long grueling day on line in the hot sun. See my Twitter for the play by play. I ended up having a huge argument over the phone with AT&T customer service in the middle of the Apple Store. From my other posts on this blog the story goes something like this. I bought the old iPhone, transferred my service to AT&T from Verizon, then when the 3G was announced (rumored) I went back to the AT&T store to figure out the best way to get on the new phone. I ended up returning the iPhone, getting this little crappy, free, refurbished Nokia to hold me over. I was going to go back to Verizon but the sales people assured me that everything would work out and that I should stay with AT&T. Unt I did.
Turns out I was NOT eligible for the incentive price on the new iPhone and that’s where the argument started. Of course back then we had no idea what type of pricing models or incentives AT&T would offer - but that’s not the point. In the end, I wound up buying the new iPhone from the Apple Store because pretty much everyone else in the NJ/NY area was sold out and I was being told that they wouldnt be replenished for 20+ days. Even the Apple Store’s assistant manager got on the phone with AT&T Customer Service to make my case. Really, they made the wrong decision and unless something changes I will feel pretty screwed. BUT, I am holding my judgement. This morning I went back to the original AT&T store to allow them to make things right. Manager wasn’t there so the jury is out. So we’ll see.
I have only used the phone for a few hours but so far I have really enjoyed the experience. Very clean, fast and predictable. Few bullets:
- The sound quality seems better.
- The phone is still pretty peppy but I am seeing a drag when multiple things are going on
- 3G is very noticable and the Wifi seems faster too
- The iTunes upgrade went nicely and the phone synched perfectly. I still dont understand why iTunes makes you authorize the computer you are use to download stuff. Had to do that for the apps to synch.
- Besides for the authorization issue (2 mins to solve) the apps synched perfectly
- I havent hooked up the email yet so I have no idea if the "push" is working yet. Loved Apple’s note today. "We really didn’t mean push"
On another good note I was finally approved for the developer program. I can now write applications AND put them on the phone. I haven’t tried it yet, but I am looking forward to it.
The MacArthur Manifesto
July 1st, 2008
MacArthur Manifesto
While recently listening to an edition of the Net@Night podcast, Amber MacArthur introduced a new segment of the show called Beef of the Week. She explained that she has basically been shutout of her Facebook account for months now. Turns out that she has too many friend requests and the Facebook platform cannot handle it. She is prevented from logging in and accepting the thousands of friends requests she has received. When she reached out to Facebook their answer was basically that there was nothing they could do and that she might try deleting all of the people that were attempting to befriend her. Not very social. Now Amber is kind of a Social Network poster child in that she dedicates most of her time promoting social media and networking and believes that the web is the best place to form communities. Seems to me that building their platform for and supporting users like Amber is in Facebook’s own best interest.
We use social networks like Facebook for many reasons. Most people use it as a place where they can keep up with their friends no matter where they are. But we are also seeing more and more groups being formed that relate to causes and charities. These are very important communities and networks like Facebook become more relevant as they host and support them. I spend a good part of my day thinking about how to promote organized social networks. The questions I ask myself include what tools or mechanisms are best for a particular social network. This typically boils down to a feature set and target demographic. NOW I am thinking I have to also consider if the platform can handle the load.
Should I create social networks on Facebook knowing they may not be able to handle it if it becomes popular?
User loyalty of Social Network websites has proven over time to be fickle. For the most part users go where their friends are. However, as we have seen in the past - my friends used to be at MySpace and now they are at Facebook. In a couple months they could be somewhere else. My main point is that if Facebook as a platform cant handle the vast numbers of people who flock to these types of communities they will fail and the users will go someplace else.
The Mission: To use Facebook against themselves. We must convince Facebook to fix their platform and to support people like Amber so we can continue to build important social communities. Maybe we should create a "Free Amber" Facebook Fan page.
